 | Kamala Harris, district attorney for the city of San Francisco, will be the featured speaker at the annual Black History Month Dinner at Calhoun College. |
Music, theater and talks by a leading San Francisco attorney, a novelist and a filmmaker are among the events that will make Yale's celebration of February as Black History Month.
On three Wednesdays during the month -- Feb. 1, 8 and 15 -- the Afro-American Cultural Center (AACC) will present "Life After Yale," dinners for current students featuring talks by Yale black alumni in finance, law, medicine, non-profit development, brand management, media, psychology and higher education. See www.yale.edu/afam for a list of speakers. The programs, which are free and open to all, will take place 6-8 p.m. at the AACC, 211 Park St.
The Yale Chapters of the Student National Medical Association and the Boricua Latino Health Organization at the School of Medicine will present the 12th annual Grannum Jamboree on Friday, Feb. 3.
The fundraising variety show -- named in honor of the late African-American Yale professor of obstetrics and gynecology, Dr. Peter Grannum -- includes Yale student singers, actors, dancers and musicians.
The show will be held at 7:30 p.m. in Harkness Auditorium, 333 Cedar St. Proceeds from the show are used to provide scholarships to the most outstanding students in the Health Professions Recruitment and Exposure Program, to buy books for all the program's participants, and to fund its general operating costs.
The Yale Gospel Choir's concert on Saturday, Feb. 4, will mark two firsts: It is the first time the group has invited alumni back for a concert, and the event is a fundraiser for the choir's first-ever international tour.
The concert -- to be held at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 4, in Sudler Hall of William L. Harkness Hall, 100 Wall St. -- will feature music by the Yale Gospel Choir and by choirs that have been established by two former members. Admission is $5.
Founded in 1973 to create a space for African Americans to worship on campus, the Yale Gospel Choir has for several years taken its music on the road to different cities in the United States during spring break in March. This year, the group will head to Capetown, South Africa, where it will be the guest of the Petra Life Center. The members will sing at schools and community centers, and will join with the University of Capetown Choir for a concert there.
Kamala Harris, district attorney for the city of San Francisco, will be the featured speaker at the annual Black History Month Dinner, taking place at 5:30 p.m. at Calhoun College in the dining hall, 189 Elm St.
Harris' topic will be "Providing Social Justice." The event is sponsored by Calhoun College Master's Office, the James Hoyt Family Fund and the AACC. Seating for the dinner is limited, and there is a charge. Those interested must R.S.V.P. to (203) 432-0740.
In December 2003, Harris was elected the first woman district attorney in San Francisco's history and the first African-American woman in California to hold the office. The citywide election, against the incumbent, was her first run for public office.
Since becoming district attorney, Harris has significantly reduced the office's backlog of homicide cases and expanded protection for witnesses of violent crime. To combat gun violence, she created a new gun specialist team and implemented new gun charging policies to keep those who have been charged with crimes involving guns off the streets.
She also launched outreach programs to San Francisco communities, expanded community courts and brought free legal clinics to immigrant neighborhoods.
A successful prosecutor in Alameda County and San Francisco, Harris served in the San Francisco District Attorney's Office as the managing attorney of the Career Criminal Unit 1998-2000. She was then head of the San Francisco City Attorney's Division on Families and Children.
In March 2004, Harris was among the "First Women in the Law" honored by the Historical Society of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. She was recognized as a "Woman of Power" at the 2004 National Urban League Conference and received the Thurgood Marshall Award at the 2005 National Black Prosecutors Association Conference. Most recently, California's largest legal newspaper, The Daily Journal, named Harris one of the top 75 women litigators in California -- the only elected official to receive that honor -- as well as one of the top 100 lawyers in the state.
Critically acclaimed author Jamaica Kincaid will read selections from her latest book, "Among Flowers: A Walk in the Himalaya," 4:30-6 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 16, in the Sterling Memorial Library lecture hall, 120 High St.
The event, which is free and open to the public, will be followed by a reception 6-7 p.m. in the library's Memorabilia Room.
Born Elaine Potter Richardson on the island of Antigua, the author changed her name to Jamaica Kincaid because her family disapproved of her writing. Her other works include "Annie John," "A Small Place" and "Autobiography of My Mother."
The reading is co-sponsored by the Departments of African American Studies, English and American Studies; the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library; AACC; the Agrarian Studies Program; the Calhoun College Master's Office; the Council on Latin American and Iberian Studies; the Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity; Sterling Memorial Library; the Women's, Gender & Sexuality Studies Program; and the Working Group on Nationalisms and Empires.
Renowned independent filmmaker Haile Gerima will discuss his work on Thursday, Feb. 23, at 7 p.m. in the AACC.
Haile is director of the award-winning "SANKOFA," as well as "Adwa -- An African Victory" and other films. He will discuss independent film, scriptwriting, contemporary black cinema and his latest project, tentatively titled "The Maroons," a six-part documentary investigating the existence of free territories during slavery that were run and controlled by escaped slaves. A screening of his film "SANKOFA" will take place on Wednesday at a time and place to be announced.
The event is organized and sponsored by the Afro-American Cultural Center, with co-sponorship from the Saybrook College Master's Office and the Film Studies Program.
For more information, call (203) 432-4132.
The student-run Heritage Theater Ensemble will present "Black in One Act," an evening of one-act works by black playwrights, Thursday-Saturday, Feb. 23-25, in the AACC.
Details on times and admission fees will be announced as they become available.
The featured works will be "Prayer Meeting" by Ben Caldwell, directed by Kobi Libii '07 of Pierson College; "Mojo" by Alice Childress, directed by Camelle Scott '07 of Branford College; and "Dutchman" by Amiri Barka, directed by Melay Araya '08 of Pierson College.
The event is co-sponsored by the AACC.
T H I S
Black History Month celebration
features talks, performances
"Life After Yale"
Grannum Jamboree
Gospel concert
Black History Month Dinner
Author Jamaica Kincaid
Filmmaker Haile Gerima
"Black in One Act"
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